Eat The Wolf
by y-ye
Summary: [INCOMPLETE] "you will find that sometimes / the princess and the witch are one / and red riding hood will eat the wolf" - persphones on Fictionpress / In which Hinata has been selected to take part in the local soulmate finding event known as The Chase.


The Tale of Little Red has been passed down so long no one quite remembers the name (nor the gender) of the person who is the main star of the legend every romantic knows at least one version of by heart. Many tales were cruel, and the supposed original German tale involves more gore than any other version, and the Russian had made them lowly equals, but Hinata always preferred his mothers version over all others.

The tale of small Aka who stared in the eyes of the sly werewolf (who had approached silently over fallen leaves to confront them alone with sweet words and hidden threats) and demanded proof of affection, for them to pass four unlucky tests set to make sure their supposed 'love' would overcome the segregated horrors of the world. And if their character did not pass, they were to leave forever, or Aka would leave one way or another, said as they fingered the pigsticker of a knife carried by the Makizushi and Sashimi in their basket. Of course, the werewolf passed all four tests, but would have failed the last if not for young Aka's growing affection. A father who was the best tracker in their village never thought to look in his own home for the beast his child was testing, after all. They would eventually move to the seaside, pups born and turned long old enough to live their own lives, and play with the tides of Susanoo every full moon, Aka's human form never far from the wolf. There are no tales of their death-sites, except for the vastness of the ocean.

Just as everyone stuck to someone they do not love remembers the tale of Guinevere, who had not loved Arthur near as much as she loved Lancelot, and evaded him for seven days without use of magic to gain the right to pursue her true love. Merlin, who had no soul mate, had helped her along the way, and would try all his years to make Arthur return his affection. He never knew he already had it. Hinata had never bothered learning the tale by heart, but that was the gist of it. He'd heard it enough because of his own innate ability with magic.

Most places had their own festivals in big cities to increase the chances of finding your own soul mate. The city would mostly grind to a halt, lights being shut off and perfumes shut away as they hoped to be found. But it was the rural places with forests and mountains that had Chases, where all werewolves nearby could convene (unless there was a grudge with the Local Alpha) and many humans selected by magic would be chosen to participate. They would wear red on that day, possibly to make it easier to spot them when they tried to hide, but more often excused as a way to honor Little Red. Magic for concealment was not allowed, nor were flying brooms, but levitation or teleportation were considered too hard to perform and were not banned as such, though highly frowned upon. It was on the Harvest Moon that these celebrations were held, the pull of the moon heightened to lengths that would stretch their senses far beyond their normal capacity so it would be easier to find their mate amongst the crowds.

If a Red was to find their mate... unsuitable, or otherwise undesirable, they were welcome to try and cross the finish line before the werewolf caught them. If they suceeded, they were free, technically, unless their wolf was particularly stubborn and went through the court system to try and claim them still. Which was frowned upon, but entirely legal, should the judge deem there no reason for the mating to be objectionable. Hinata hated that, but was powerless to stop it for now. And he had no idea who his mate was- maybe, he mused, it would be someone sweet like Yachi, another witch in his year. Or maybe he would have a long time until they met. I mean, how likely was it that the right werewolf would find him on his first Chase?

(Hinata would call Kenma later that night, starting to panic about what if he did not even like his soul mate, and Kenma would calmly tell him that there was no way he'd let anyone do that to Shouyou. Kuroo's father was one of the highest billed lawyers in Tokyo, and he would never let a friend of both Kuroo and Kenma be stuck in a loveless bond. And even if he wouldn't, Kenma would still find a way, just as any of his team would. "But I don't believe someone like you would let someone take what you love from that. There would be nothing left if they even hinted at a threat." There was something in his voice, like he'd heard a version of Little Red like that before and had loved it.)


End file.
